


Ticket to the Future

by The_Plaid_Slytherin



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Gen, Idols, POV Kurosawa Dia, POV Kurosawa Ruby, Sisters, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 05:54:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11030022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Plaid_Slytherin/pseuds/The_Plaid_Slytherin
Summary: When Dia and Ruby hear that Muse has made the Love Live finals, there's no way they'll miss seeing it live. Even if they don't exactly have permission to go.





	Ticket to the Future

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Star of Heaven (rubylily)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubylily/gifts).



The quiet peace of the Kurosawa home was broken by Dia's shout. 

"Ruby! Ruby!" Dia's feet pounded up the hallway and Ruby looked up from her book as her bedroom door was thrown open. "Ruby! µ's made it past the final preliminaries!" 

"They did?" Ruby leapt off her bed. "I knew they would!" They had watched the stream together the night before, but now all the final results had been tabulated and the winners officially announced. "That means they'll be in the finals!" She sighed, flopping back onto her bed. "I wish we could see them live."

Dia crossed her arms over her chest. Ruby braced for a lecture. There was no way it could happen. Their parents would never have time to take them (much less be interested in the Love Live) and they couldn't go alone. 

"Onee-chan, I—"

"It's a brilliant idea, Ruby. We're going!" 

"But—" 

Dia began pacing, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "We could do it. I have money saved. Mother and Daddy will be away that weekend. I thought that meant we could watch the stream on the TV in the living room, but…" She looked up at Ruby, a devious glint in her green eyes. "Do you want to go?"

"Yes! If we can…" Ruby paused. It didn't seem possible when she thought about it more. Tokyo was so far away, and she had no idea how to get there, much less how to get to where the concert would be held. "Do we need tickets?"

"I'll have to buy them. It's a good thing we have time." 

Ruby was seized by a sudden anxiety. All of this had been decided very suddenly. Was it really okay for them to do this? Ruby had never been outside Uchiura without their parents, and she was pretty sure Dia hadn't either. "Are you sure, onee-chan?" 

"Of course I am! This is for µ's." 

Ruby grinned delightedly. Of course she could trust her sister. This was going to be _amazing_. 

**

Dia checked her bag for what had to be the hundredth time. She had tickets to the finals, she had a train schedule, she had a map of Tokyo. Their parents would be gone for the entire weekend, which was more than adequate, because Dia and Ruby were only going to be gone all day on Saturday. They would leave right after µ's' performance. 

She'd even Googled the concert venue and seen that it was outdoors. That meant they would need to dress warmly. Maybe she should buy some hand warmers to keep in their coat pockets. 

Nothing could go wrong, not when she was watching over her precious little sister. Nothing could happen to Ruby. Especially not when this was a not-exactly-sanctioned trip. She didn't know for certain that her parents _would_ say no. After all, Dia was going to be in high school in a few months. She knew her parents trusted her. Whether they trusted her to go all that way with Ruby was another matter, which was why she had judged it prudent to not tell them where they were going. 

On Friday, they bid their parents good-bye, and then they set to work planning their adventure.

"Stay with me at all times," Dia said, as she paced in front of the eagerly listening Ruby. "You've never been out on your own before." She neglected to mention that neither had she, Dia. It wasn't that important. Besides, Dia had been to Tokyo plenty of times with their parents, and she was observant enough that she was sure she could navigate the trains on her own even though their father had always done it for them. "I'll give you your own map so you'll be all right if we get separated."

Ruby paled. "But we won't get separated, will we, onee-chan?"

"Of course not. It's just a precaution." 

She had thought everything out to the letter. She'd gone over it a thousand times. There was no problem she hadn't already foreseen and corrected for. Nothing was going to go wrong.

**

Ruby was almost too excited to sleep. She watched the glowing hands of her alarm clock as they ticked steadily toward five o'clock, when they would have to get up and get ready to go to Tokyo and see µ's perform. She couldn't believe it was actually happening. It was all thanks to her brilliant sister. 

Finally, Ruby closed her eyes, resolving to at least rest them so she could stay awake on the train trip. She didn't want to be a bother to Dia, who surely didn't want her little sister to do something embarrassing like fall asleep on the train.

Before she knew it, her alarm was going off. 

"Ruby!" Dia called. "It's time to go! We can't be late."

It was still dark when they left the house, which Dia diligently locked. Ruby glanced nervously over her shoulder, but all the neighbors' houses were dark. The chances that someone would mention to their parents that they'd been out was very slim but it wasn't one she relished. Ruby always dreaded getting in trouble even though it rarely happened. 

"Come on," Dia said, carefully tucking the house key into her purse. If she didn't know better, Ruby might have thought her sister was nervous. "Let's go to the station."

The streets were practically deserted on the cold February morning, but the skies were clear. It was going to be a beautiful day, though Ruby knew they would happily have stood in the rain for µ's.

Buying the tickets for the first leg of their journey was easy. They found seats by the door and Dia gripped the timetable tightly. "Transfer to the Tokaido line at Mishima," she muttered under her breath. "Tokaido at Mishima. Tokaido at Mishima." 

Ruby yawned. Dia seemed to have everything under control as expected. She put in her ear buds and called up _Snow Halation_ on her music player. Before she knew it, they would be there. 

**

Dia didn't let herself relax until they were on the train speeding directly toward Tokyo. It felt frightfully grown-up to be practically by herself out here in the real world. No one knew where they were. Dia imagined security footage of them boarding the train being played on the news, or something else dreadful like that. She glanced suspiciously about the train, but the only people in the nearby seats were an old man engrossed in his newspaper and a tired-looking woman with a sleeping toddler. They were probably safe here. 

Tokyo Station was crowded, even on a Saturday morning, and Dia took Ruby by the hand as they fought their way to the Yamanote Line platform. This train was packed and Dia had to keep one hand on Ruby and the other on her purse, all while trying not to fall on anyone. 

At last, they reached their stop. They stumbled out of the train, fighting their way through the crowd.

"Look!" Ruby cried. They could see the venue from the platform. It was already mobbed by people, and as they left the station, they were carried along with the crowd. Most of the people disembarking here were going to the Love Live. 

"We have to buy something! Onee-chan, can we?" 

"Definitely." Dia had budgeted for this. "We have to have glowsticks. And I suppose we could get a couple of souvenirs."

The walk up to the venue was packed with vendors, some of which Dia had to shield Ruby's innocent eyes from. By the time they actually reached the entrance, they were laden down with bags. 

"When does µ's perform?" Ruby asked, as they found their seats. They weren't the worst seats, and Dia was proud of herself for not having gotten tickets for the floor. She would never have been able to keep track of Ruby there. 

Dia consulted her program. "What group is performing now?"

"Sunday Squid."

Dia found Sunday Squid on the schedule and scanned down until she found µ's. 

They were performing last. Well, it didn't matter what time they got home, if their parents weren't there, did it?

**

Ruby tugged her scarf more securely around her neck and hopped in place. Somehow, she didn't feel the cold, not with the anticipation of µ's to come—not to mention so many other fans around. In between acts, she'd chatted with some of the other girls and found out they loved µ's, too. Some of them were even school idols themselves, though they hadn't advanced very far. Somehow, Ruby didn't feel as shy when she was talking to other girls about idols. 

She liked watching the other groups, too. None of them were like µ's, but some of them were really good. (She'd already gone on her phone and bought Sunday Squid's song.) They bought food from the vendors midafternoon, and Dia read from her program again.

µ's was three acts away.

Ruby noticed it was starting to get dark, and with the darkness, the chill set in. Dia sat down, hunched into her coat, and Ruby momentarily wondered if she was all right, but then somebody shouted that Extra Star was up next and Ruby's attention turned back to the stage. Extra Star was from their region, and then µ's would be two acts away.

And they would be performing a new song! 

"Onee-chan, wake up!" Ruby shook Dia by her shoulders. "µ's is next."

Dia's eyes opened slowly. "Oh, good. µ's."

"Come on, onee-chan. There's Eli!"

Dia brightened up at that and she stood with the rest of the crowd, screaming for µ's. 

"Their outfits are so cute!"

"Look, it's Hanayo!" 

When the song had finished, Ruby and Dia joined the rest of the audience in calling for an encore, and µ's came out a second time. It couldn't get any better than this.

After that, there was the voting, then the announcement of the results and the presentation of the trophy. Ruby couldn't help but cry along with the girls of µ's.

"Onee-chan, I want to do that! I want to be a school idol."

"Sure." Dia was smiling, but she looked tired. 

"Are you feeling okay?" Ruby asked.

"I'm fine," Dia replied, but her face was flushed.

"I'll take the bags." Ruby didn't wait for a reply, seizing their shopping bags as they were swept along by the throng of people leaving the venue. She thought she remembered the way back to the station, and she pulled Dia along as the crowd thinned the further they got. 

Ruby forged onward, though she stopped short when she reached the station. "Onee-chan, the trains have stopped running!"

Dia looked at her watch. "Oh, Ruby! I had no idea it was that late. I'm so sorry." Then she started coughing. 

"We'll find a place to stay," Ruby said firmly. Again, she seized Dia's hand.

She didn't know why, but she felt a tremendous surge of courage. Maybe it was the fact that she'd just seen µ's perform—the girls she most wanted to be like, shy Hanayo who had turned into a shining star on stage, but she felt as though she could take charge of the situation.

"But where?" Dia asked miserably. 

Ruby didn't have an answer, but there had to be a place. "We'll find something," she said. "You need to get warm, onee-chan. Then you'll feel better." 

The farther they walked from the station, the more unsure of herself Ruby got. Would they be able to find a place to stay all night? A safe place? She glanced back at Dia, who was flagging. 

She stopped in front of a storefront with flashing lights, one of the few places that was still open. It was an Internet café. Ruby hesitated. Was it okay for them to go in a place like this? Their father wouldn't be happy, but, she decided, their father wasn't here. 

"Ruby!" Dia sounded shocked as Ruby headed down the stairs to the door. 

"You need to rest, onee-chan. You need something warm to drink." 

The place was dark and cramped inside, and Ruby drew on all of her courage to pay the fee to the clerk. He was eyeing them suspiciously, but Ruby glared right back, though she was shaking inside. An idol had to deal with people. All kinds of people.

"Go on back," the clerk said listlessly. He went back to his magazine. Ruby led Dia back to one of the cubicles and left her there while she went to buy snacks and drinks. She made sure to get a warm coffee for Dia. When she got back, she found her sister slumped over the desk, head buried in her hands.

"Oh, Ruby, I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault you got sick, onee-chan." Ruby set the coffee in front of her. "You should have told me earlier. We could have gone home."

Dia blew her nose. "But we couldn't miss µ's. _I_ should have realized the trains would stop running!" 

"It was a long concert." Ruby took off her coat and scarf. "And we saw µ's! That's the important thing."

"I'm supposed to be responsible for you—"

"You can't do everything, onee-chan." Ruby opened a bag of chips and set them on the desk. "Why can't we take care of each other?"

Dia's lower lip trembled. "Ruby! 

"We'll be fine." Ruby didn't know how confident she was of this, but she felt like it was something she needed to say. It was something Dia needed to hear. She sat down. "It's only for a few hours and then the trains will start running and we'll go home."

"You're so brave, Ruby."

Ruby slumped forward. She didn't feel brave anymore. She couldn't believe everything she'd done. She'd led Dia through the streets of Tokyo like she'd known what she was doing. She'd talked to strangers. Her shoulders started to shake. She wouldn't cry. She had to be strong for Dia.

Suddenly, she felt Dia's arms surround her. "I'm so proud of you," she said. 

Ruby hugged her sister back. At least they were together. 

**

In the end, neither of them slept. Dia assured Ruby she was feeling much better and insisted that Ruby should sleep, while Ruby refused to make Dia stay awake. The next few hours passed with the dreamlike giddiness of staying up all night in a strange place, which made it feel all the more unreal. Dia could hardly believe they had gotten themselves into this situation. They should have been at home, in their own beds, having watched the Love Live on the TV in the living room while pigging out on snacks. 

They _should_ have, but Dia knew she wouldn't trade this memory for anything.

They were both exhausted by the time they dragged themselves out into the predawn chill, but Dia was able to get them back to the station and onto the correct train. They were too spent to say much to each other, and as soon as they'd secured seats for themselves and their bags, Dia couldn't help but yawn.

"Go to sleep, onee-chan."

"No, I—" Dia's answer was interrupted by another yawn.

"I'll keep an eye on our stuff." Ruby settled in and took out one of the magazines they had bought yesterday. "Maybe we can take turns."

"All right," Dia said, though she knew Ruby would never wake her up to take her turn. "Remember where we have to transfer."

"I remember." Ruby squeezed Dia's hand. "Go to sleep, onee-chan."

Dia closed her eyes. She knew she was in good hands.


End file.
